1 Family matters Exam focus: Matching headings Pee CSch ue Reet en ICT icy) TSU Rene ee Cie ie Unc er eet ey ied Part 1: Vocabulary 1 What is the difference in meaning between the words in the groups 1-8? Use a dictionary tohelp you. 1. friend / mate / flatmate 2 sister / sister-in-law 3° brother /sister / sibling 4 boyfriend / husband / partner colleague / business partner acquaintance / stranger aunt / great-aunt half-sister / step-sister exea 2 Collocations are words that are often found together. Complete the sentences 1-4 with the words a-f. Note how they collocate with the words in italics. a abilities © apart non-identical b adulthood d_ lifelong f older 1 Twins have aln) _____ bond that other siblings may envy: they share their own language, play their own games from early childhood, share bedrooms and birthday parties, James and his brother Frank are ___ twins, and they don’t look alike at all. A few years ago we sent out a questionnaire to pairs of twins asking about their psychic and one identical twin in five reported some kind of telepathy. 8 Reading for IELTSunity 4 Surprisingly, the ‘twin effect’ can become stronger as twins grow _______ and move Often the older one will be dominant until they reach 3 Underline the words related to the topic of family in the passage. Do not use a dictionary. Do Exercise 4 before you check your answers. Widows and widowers whose spouses pass away without making a will are set to receive a bigger inheritance payout from next month. If a person dies without making a will, the amount left automatically to his or her spouse or civil partner is changing from £125,000 to £250,000 where there are children Experts have welcomed the change, which takes effect on February 1, but emphasise that itis still important to make a will, particularly if you are unmarried or separated but not divorced. However, people should not be misled into thinking that these changes mean that they do not need to make a will. It still remains the case that unmarried couples are not entitled to receive anything on the death of their other halt if he or she has not made a will. Modern family life is becoming ever more complicated, with second marriages and children from more than one relationship. A will is the only way to ensure that those you love or are obliged to care for are adequately provided for. After the spouse has received his or her legal share, the rest of the estate is shared by children or grandchildren. If there are none, surviving parents will get a share. If there are none of these, any brothers and sisters who shared the same two parents as the deceased will receive a share. If your family circumstances have changed, it is important that you make or update a will to ensure that your money and possessions are distributed according to your wishes. For example, you may be separated and your ex-partner now lives with someone else. If you are married or enter into a registered civil partnership, this will invalidate any previous will you have made. 4, Match the words and phrases 1-12 from the passage in Exercise 3 with the definitions a-l. The words and phrases relating to the topic of death have been shaded. widow aa husband or wife, considered in relation to their partner (formal) 2 widower b a former member of an established couple 3. spouse © to have stopped living together as a couple 4 will d_ somebody's wife, husband or partner 5. inheritance € a person who has recently died 6 ex-partner f woman whose husband has died and who has not married again 7 {bel separated 9 money or property which you receive from somebody who has died 8 [bel divorced h aman whose wife has died and who has not married again 9 other half i adocument in which a person declares what should be done with their {inforral] money and property after they die 10estate j tobe legally separated from a husband or wife because the marriage has ended 11 deceased {noun} —_k_ to prove that an argument, conclusion, or result is wrong or cause it to be wrong ‘12invalidate | all the money and property somebody leaves behind them when they die Family and relationships 9List of headings i New families: beneficial or harmful? ii The government reaction The first criticisms of ‘family’ iii The typical western family The ‘happy family’ model iv Political families ix The function of families v__ The disappearance of the traditional model Families: then and now Section a The family has often been regarded as the cornerstone of society. In premodern and modern societies alike it has been seen as the most basic unit of social organization and one which carries out vital tasks, such as socializing children. Section b Until the 1960s few sociologists questioned the importance or the benefits of family life. Most sociologists assumed that family life was evolving as modernity progressed, and that the changes involved made the family better suited to meeting the needs of society and of family members. A particular type of family, the nuclear family [based around a two-generation household of parents and their children}, was seen as well adapted to the demands of modern societies. Section c From the 1960s, an increasing number of critical thinkers began to question the assumption that the family was necessarily a beneficial institution. Feminists, Marxists and critical psychologists began to highlight what they saw as some of the negative effects and the ‘dark side’ of family life. In the following decades the family was not just under attack from academic writers. Social changes also seemed to be undermining traditional families. Rising divorce rates, cohabitation before marriage, increasing numbers of single-parent families and single- person households, and other trends all suggested that individuals were basing thei lives less and less around conventional families. Section d ‘Some have seen these changes as a symptom of greater individualism within modern societies. They have welcomed what appears to be an increasing range of choice for individuals. People no longer have to base their lives around what may be outmoded and, for many, unsuitable conventional family structures. Others, however, have complained about the changes and worried about their effect on society. Such changes are seen as both a symptom and a cause of instability and insecurity in people's lives and in society as a whole. This view has been held by traditionalists who want a return to the ideal of the nuclear family. For them, many of society's problems are a result of increased family instability. Section e Alongside these developments in society and sociology, family life has become a topic of political debate. Politicians have become somewhat more willing to comment on families. ‘Sometimes they have devised policies to try to deal with perceived problems surrounding the family. In short, the family has come to be seen as more problematic than it was in the past. The controversies that have come to surround families and households are the subject of this chapter. Section a Section d Sectionb = —___ Section Section c Family and relationships 1314 Part 3: Exam practice READING PASSAGE This reading passage has 5 sections, A-E. Choose the correct heading for sections A-E from the list of numbered headings below. Write the correct number i-vili next to sections A-E. List of Headings i The science of marriage The importance of honest communication The power of thought The likelihood of marrying again Technological advances The benefits of avoiding arguments vii The real predictor for a lasting marriage viii The consequences of early dissatisfaction Section A Section B Section Section D Section E Reading for IELTSunit 7 Section A Marriage is a much-researched topic, and the way married couples communicate in particular has been the subject of many studies. These days, research into marriage often involves hours of recordings, followed by a thorough analysis of data with the help of modern software applications. Section B One such study analysed five years’ worth of data, obtained from 750 participating couples. At the start of the study, participants who felt they were in a harmonious relationship reported having happy marriages. In other words, low levels of conflict corresponded to a perceived higher degree of happiness. At the end of the five- year period, however, many of these couples had separated or had started divorce proceedings. The outcome of this study suggests that keeping the peace rather than talking about problems and working through them can have harmful effects ona relationship. Section C In a more recent, larger scale study, people were observed over a fifteen-year period. The researchers recorded the timings of marriages, divorces and remarriages and discovered patterns that helped them estimate how likely divorce was. If participants admitted the possibility of divorce to themselves during the first year of the study, the probability of it actually happening was ten times greater than for those couples who had not thought about it at all. Clearly, once the idea of divorce is in somebody's mind, they are more likely to act on it. Section D Yet another piece of research confirms that the way men and women feel at the beginning of their marriage makes a difference to its eventual outcome. Those who feel disappointed, perhaps because marriage itself is different from their expectations, or because their lifestyle is not what they had envisaged, are more likely to divorce. Section E Having said that, relationships are complex and their development is the result of many different influences. The end of a marriage is unlikely to be brought about by one particular factor, and is more probably the result of a combination of small incidents that add up over time. It is also worth bearing in mind that in most countries it is the minority of marriages that fail. No one can truthfully claim that their marriage is happy or perfect all the time, but the fact remains that most married people stay together for life. The secret of a happy marriage, it seems, lies where most people have always thought it does: in the effort made on a daily basis by both partners to treat each other with consideration and courtesy, and to. cheerfully accept each other's faults as well as their good qualities. Family and relationships 15.